Efficient travel across continents increasingly depends on smooth transfers between airlines, regardless of alliances or established partnerships. Dohop, an Icelandic technology company based in Reykjavík, has developed solutions that have redefined how these airline connections work, helping both travellers and airlines navigate a fragmented air travel landscape.
Origins: responding to changing skies
Dohop began in 2004 as a response to the growing world of budget air carriers and the complexity of stitching together separate flights. Initially, it functioned as a travel search engine, linking passengers to low-cost flight options without selling tickets itself. In 2005, with the launch of the world’s first low-cost flight planner, Dohop made it easier for travellers to combine separate airline tickets, an approach that soon expanded to all scheduled flights worldwide and included 660 airlines.
In those early years, Dohop’s model was primarily to aggregate information and refer customers to airlines for booking. Income came through pay-per-click advertising and technology licensing, along with building specialized search engines for airports and travel companies. Dohop also offered route analysis services to airlines wanting to optimise their networks.
Technology reshaping air travel
Over time, Dohop’s focus shifted from a consumer flight search to providing technical platforms for the aviation industry. Today, Dohop is known for ‘virtual interlining’, or self-transfer technology. Unlike traditional interlining agreements that require airlines to cooperate via shared booking systems, Dohop’s solution allows airlines to combine flights on separate tickets, regardless of partnership or alliance. For travellers, this means more flexibility in planning complex itineraries that involve low-cost or unconnected carriers.
Partners using Dohop’s technology include well-known names such as easyJet, Wizz Air, Transavia and Air Transat. Each airline incorporates Dohop’s platform as its own branded portal, permitting passengers to book mixed-carrier journeys directly. When segments are sold on separate tickets, passengers run the risk of missed connections. Dohop addresses this through its ConnectSure service, which protects travellers against schedule disruptions by covering rebooking costs or refunds in case of a missed onward flight.
Beyond flights, Dohop has also expanded into intermodal travel. Its technology now supports combined bookings for air and rail, such as easyJet’s collaboration with Deutsche Bahn, allowing passengers to buy train and plane trips together.
Dohop’s reputation has been recognised by the travel technology industry, with awards from Travelmole and the World Travel Awards, and listings such as Time Magazine’s top 100 travel sites. Over the years, this modest Icelandic company has grown into a quiet force shaping how journeys are pieced together in the age of flexible travel.
